The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

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Could a growing company that makes most of its money selling to individuals in China breathe life into a shrinking giant that sells to enterprises?

If the acquirer is and the target is , the answer is maybe. And there are three reasons that such an improbable merger might make sense.

Before getting into these reasons, it is worth pointing out that such a deal would make Warren Buffett smile. According to AP, he "believes that IBM will be making more money ten years from now than it does today, and IBM is repurchasing its stock aggressively so Berkshire's share of the company's profits -- [it owns 9% of IBM stock now] will grow over time -- [due to revenues from IBM's cloud computing and corporate services]."

Whether that happens or not, Apple is becoming increasingly dependent on demand in China for its eight year old iPhone line -- China is Apple's biggest region and its sales soared 70% there to $16.8 billion in the first three months of 2015 -- while IBM keeps getting smaller while promoting the hope that the cloud -- it invested $4 billion there, according to the Wall Street Journal -- will be its salvation.

During the same period, IBM's revenue dropped 12% to $19.59 billion "as a surging U.S. dollar compounded the impact of shrinking hardware sales. It was the company’s 12th straight quarter of year-on-year declines," according to the Journal.

Tim Cook knows IBM

PALO ALTO, CA - APRIL 10: Apple CEO Tim Cook smiles as he visits an Apple Store on April 10, 2015 in Palo Alto, California. The pre-orders of the highly-anticipated wearable from the tech giant begin today as the watches arrive at stores for customers to preview. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Cook worked at IBM from 1982 to 1994. Cook rose up the ranks at IBM and in his last job there he was "North American Fulfillment director, managing manufacturing and distribution functions for IBM's Personal Computer Company in both North and Latin America," according to Biography.com.

In July 2014, IBM and Apple partnered "to deliver Apple technology to big business," according to the Wall Street Journal. IBM has since developed software for Apple’s iOS operating system, but it has been unclear how important the relationship is to either company’s bottom line.

Last month, IBM and Apple announced a deal to get iPads into the hands of elderly Japanese through Japan Post. But so far, the IBM partnership has not boosted iPad sales which tumbled 23% to 12.6 million in the first three months of 2015, according to the Journal.

On April 30, Cook expressed optimism for the partnership, noting “We want to change the way people work. There are too many enterprises that are stuck in a different era.”